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Facebook Develops Network Portals, New Inbox and Updates Site Design

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Apr. 11, 2007 — Facebook, the Internet’s leading social utility, today released new messaging functionality and redesigned its site to simplify navigation for users. Facebook also launched more than 47,000 network portal pages that aggregate information so users can better understand what’s going on around them. “Facebook is a technology company with a highly iterative development process and we’re constantly improving how the site works,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO, Facebook. “Our goal with the latest changes is to help users navigate the site more easily and share information more efficiently.” Several weeks prior to launching the new functionality, Facebook created a group on the site called ‘Facebook Sneak Preview’ and released screenshots to foster discussion among users about the improvements. More than 100,000 users joined the group to comment and share their feedback. Various user suggestions were incorporated into the final products, including adding more network-specific statistics and the ability to control if an event or group is publicized on the network page.

Portals Aggregate Network Information Facebook has more than 47,000 networks worldwide for different regions, companies and schools. Users on Facebook can affiliate with one or more networks that connect them with people who are part of their real-world social networks. A network portal page shows popular public events and public groups that are formed by users. Each page contains basic metrics about the network, such as number of members and gender breakdown. More granular metrics, such as political views and the relationship status of users, are also displayed in percentages. Network-wide statistics are aggregated from information that users choose to list in their profiles.

New Site Design Facebook simplified navigation on the site to give users easier access to core functions and applications. Profile, Friends, Networks and Inbox – pages core to the user experience on Facebook – have been moved to a more prominent place at the top of the profile page. Facebook applications – Photos, Notes, Groups, Events and Posted items – are now displayed on the left side bar.